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Philosophy of Tae Kwon Do |
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by Grand Master James S. Benko, Ph.D. |
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The philosophy of Tae Kwon Do is to build a more peaceful world. To accomplish this goal
Tae Kwon Do begins with the foundation, the individual. The Art strives to develop the character, personality, and
positive moral and ethical traits in each practitioner. It is upon this "foundation" of
individuals possessing positive attitudes and characteristics that the "end goal" may be achieved.
Tae Kwon Do strives to develop the positive aspects of an individual's personality: Respect,
Courtesy, Goodness, Trustworthiness, Loyalty, Humility, Courage, Patience, Integrity,
Perseverance, Self-control, an Indomitable Spirit and a sense of responsibility to help and respect all forms of life.
This takes a great deal of hard training and many do not reach far enough to achieve perfection
in all of these aspects. However, it is the physical, mental, and spiritual effort
which the individual puts forth that develops the positive attributes and
image of both the individual and how he or she perceives others.
By helping mold an individual into a well-rounded and responsible person, the individual can pass
onto others, through both his teachings and his personal actions, the principles
he has learned through his Tae Kwon Do training. Individuals unite and become a family,
families come together and form a community, communities merge and develop into a nation, and nations are what
make up our present-day world. In order to help build a more peaceful world, Tae Kwon Do starts with
one person at a time. Gradually groups form, dojangs (schools) emerge, organizations develop,
until Tae Kwon Do's philosophy has influenced, in a positive way, enough persons, families, communities, and
nations, to someday bring about, or at least help bring about, the unification of nations
dedicated to helping each other.
The task is not easy. Just like the metamorphosis an individual goes through from white belt to
black belt and eventually Master, so the transition of the unification of nations united by laws of
peace, is a long and hard task. Tae Kwon Do strives for this unification. Race, creed, and
nationality have nothing to do with Tae Kwon Do. They are all one in the same. Tae Kwon Do
reaches toward the total development of the individual and the founding of a peaceful world. No
matter what color a persons skin, no matter what his religion, no matter where his national
boundaries we all seek one thing, Peace. This peace can only be achieved if each person has
found peace within himself. Tae Kwon Do reaches toward the cultivation of this inner peace and
the development of a well-rounded responsible individual.
The physical aspects of Tae Kwon Do are merely a by-product of Tae Kwon Do. It is the mental
and spiritual development of a person which Tae Kwon Do nurtures and helps give birth to. The
philosophy of Tae Kwon Do can be attained through the cultivation and maturity of all three
aspects of the Art; physical, mental and spiritual, in each individual. Once these three aspects
have been instilled in a person, then the total maturation of the person will start a chain-reaction
which will, with God's help, lead us to a more peaceful world.
Tae Kwon Do is doing its part to build a more peaceful world, I, as an instructor, am doing my
best to attain this goal, and you, as a practitioner of the Art of Tae Kwon Do, have begun to set
the world on the path of peaceful unification. Our task is not an easy one. We may not see our
goal fulfilled in our lifetime, but we are now planting the seeds which will one day take root and
blossom into Tae Kwon Do's philosophy, total positive development of each individual and a peaceful
world.
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